George Lovell was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, where many formative geographical experiences took place. The first member of his family to finish high school (Allan Glen's) and go on to university, George stuck close to home and daily crossed the river from Govan to Gilmorehill. At the University of Glasgow (1969-1973) he graduated with an M.A. in Regional and Systematic Geography, thereafter traversing the Atlantic, not the Clyde, to pursue his graduate education. Two degrees from the University of Alberta (M.A., 1975; Ph.D., 1980) convinced him that he might, after all, have a future career in education. Queen's University hired him in 1979 on a one-year, non-renewable position. He has remained at Queen's in various guises (postdoctoral fellow, tenure-track appointee, and now tenured professor) ever since.